Good Things
by Lucy Heartbreaker
Summary: Igneel had always told Natsu that good things happen to those who are patient. He wasn't one to doubt his father's words, and when he finds a teary eyed Lucy he realizes the old man actually has a point. Nalu one-shot!
…

The smell of rain was heavy in the air over Magnolia and as the clouds loomed above the dragon slayer he came to realize that a storm was on it's way. The forecast called for it, Juvia made sure to warn the guild about it ahead of time as she could always sense when it came, and everyone had headed home early due to it. Natsu wasn't too happy about it, he was just on his way to grabbing a job request when Mirajane warned everyone to head home safely for it was a bad one.

There was never a bad storm for Natsu Dragneel, he didn't care if the sky was filled with lightning and thunder or even tornadoes he would still be out and about. However, he recalled his teammates warnings about it and thought against the idea of staying out.

'You shouldn't be outside during it, Natsu.' Her voice rang in his head, his eyebrows furrowing as he heard it. "Yeah, Yeah I know." He replied seemingly to himself, hands behind his head as he was heading towards the path down to his small cottage. Happy had gotten a headstart on him and was probably already snuggled up under his many blankets and covers munching away on his spare fish.

He laughed at the thought, glancing up to observe the status of the supposed storm that was heading this way. The clouds were almost pitch black, and small flashes of light blinked every so often in the distance.

The first drops of rains began to fall, some landing on his cheek as Natsu nonchalantly brushed them off. "Damn rain." He mumbled annoyed glaring at nothing in particular. He would be stuck at home all day, with nothing to do but mess around with his cards or burn some things up in his house. Maybe he would spend the day eating what he had left in the fridge so that when the storm cleared up he could grab Lucy and run off to get some jewels.

When they had left the guildhall everyone on Team Natsu parted ways. Gray wandered off a bit before them, offering Juvia a walk to the Fairy Hills before the storm came. Erza went along with them, hoping to encourage some kind of spark between them but Natsu knew Gray was much too dense to do anything with Juvia on that small walk.

Natsu, Happy, and Lucy had been the only ones left and Happy was being quite impatient with the two. He wanted to get home to his precious fish so finally Natsu had gotten fed up and told him to go on without him, which he complied very easily.

Lucy was laughing the whole time they had their small argument, and when Natsu turned his attention to ask her if she wanted a walk home as well she was quick to turn him down. It was a bit odd, considering that he always walked her home on days the weather would get bad but it looked like she just wanted to head home herself. Perhaps she was going to stop at some store before she went home, but he had no idea.

She was hard to read, even more difficult than any book he had ever picked up. He wanted to persist in his efforts of walking her home, but there was something a bit off that told him it was best not to. With a goodbye and a smile, the two had parted their ways and began to walk from each other. Natsu glanced over his shoulder for a slight moment, watching her blonde locks sway back and forth as she got further and further away from him. It was rather sad actually, and sad in a pitiful kind of way. He was always admiring her from a distance, only braving up when she was in danger and needed his help. Aside from that, though, he was a hopeless puppy dog. That, was what was sad about it.

"Ah, whatever." Natsu snapped himself out of his thoughts, finding himself walking down a few familiar roads as a shortcut to get to his home. He recalled a few wise words his father told him, and that was good things would come to him with patience. He was never known for being the patient kind of guy, everyone including Igneel knew this, but he was never one to doubt his father's words.

He firmly believed Lucy was a good thing, a wonderful thing he was glad to have met in Hargeon, and that his father's words would apply to her as well. In time, he would be able to tell her how much she meant to him, but for now he was content being her best friend.

"Wonder if she made it home OK." He thought to himself as he watched some leaves blow past him as he made his way past the town's park. The leaves of the trees were falling from force of the winds and he made sure to dodge a few that had gotten in his face. I guess this is what they meant when they said the storm would bring harsh winds.

Natsu didn't care much about how the winds picked up or how much rain had begun to fall, all he cared about was getting home. The sound of a branch snapping had caught his attention and his instincts were sharp enough so that he would jump out of the way of a weak branch that fell off a nearby tree. He gulped as he watched it crash into the ground beside him and realized just how dangerous it was to be outside.

"What the hell, nature?" He looked around with an annoyed glance, and shoved his hands into his pockets as he continued on his way. If he didn't know better, he would have thought mother nature would be out to get him.

It was no matter though, one small branch wasn't going to deter him from his thoughts. As he made his way through the park, some odd sounds had caught his attention.

He glanced up confused, looking around the scene for the source of the sound. It sounded a bit hushed. Almost like… a sob?

Who was out in this weather and who was crying on top of that? Being the type of person he was, he wasn't about to just let it slide. He ignored the harsh rain now pouring down on him causing his usually spikey hair to flatten once it got soaked.

He walked off the path he was following, his sharp hearing not losing sight of the sobs which now filled the air. He quickly sped up and took a sharp turn around a tree and soon he was standing a few meters away from the park bench.

On it, a hunched over figure sat. Her hands were covering her face, her body physically shaking as she continued to sob away. Her blonde hair hung from her shoulders and her bangs messily shielded the view of her eyes.

The rain which was pouring did not mask her scent and soon his eyes widened with realization. If her scent wasn't enough to clue him in the pink emblem on her hand was a clear sign.

"Lucy?" He spoke out, his voice causing her to quickly lift up her head in alarm. Their eyes met and as soon as he caught sight of the tears streaming from them he could feel his heart sinking into the pit of his stomach.

It was no lie that he hated to see her cry, he wasn't sure what awoken inside him when she did but it was as if his flames were just fed even more fuel. He wanted to stop them as quickly as he could.

"N-Natsu! W-what are you doing here?" She began to frantically rub her eyes, shielding her face from his gaze in alarm and embarrassment.

"I could ask you the same thing." He replied rather seriously, walking towards her with no hesitation. She didn't seem to like this however and she quickly turned her body from him.

"Just..." She began, sniffing a bit as thunder cracked above them. "Leave me alone!" She exclaimed shakily, hunching over once again as if she was trying her best to hide away from the man before her. He was startled by her words, eyes widening even more and eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"What are you talking about? It's dangerous here!" Natsu retorted quickly, reaching a hand out and placing it on her shoulder. She didn't budge however, and he felt just how much she was shaking when he touched her. The coldness that he felt was startling and it was as if she was standing in a freezer for hours on end.

"What's wrong, Luce?" He questioned again, taking a seat next to her on the now wet bench. The wind had made his scarf flap wildly in the wind, but he had tightened it to make sure it wouldn't fly off. Lucy clenched her hands into fist, keeping her sight off from the dragon slayer as she tried to come up with what to say.

"It's nothing..." She replied, but it was an obvious lie. She knew it was, but she just didn't want to explain the reason for why she had been crying her eyes out minutes ago.

Natsu rose an eyebrow, not impressed with her excuse. "Really? Come on, Lucy. I know you better than that." He grumbled unamused.

She sniffed a bit more quietly, continuing to rub her eyes from the left over tears that she still had. Natsu watched her, his heart wretching with every tear that fell down her stained cheek. He couldn't tell if it was rain or tears, but at this point he didn't care. He couldn't let her continue to cry.

"I-I'm just... I'm missing someone..."

With those simple words, Natsu knew that he wouldn't try to pry anymore from her. He had no idea that he was being so nosey, and he didn't mean to be, he just wanted to understand why Lucy was so upset. He made it a point to make sure she was cheered up and happy, always.

When she had spoken those words, it was as if another wall was broken. The tears began to stream once again and this time the tears and rain drops were clearly distinctive from each other. The pain of missing someone, he knew it too well. He knew he couldn't take it anymore and he soon wrapped his arms around her head and pulled her up to his chest.

Lucy gasped in alarm, eyes widening when she had realized what he did. His grip was firm but somehow it held affection and comfort in it as well. It didn't hurt from how suddenly he grabbed her, and she felt herself relaxing. His body was always so warm, and in the pouring rain and freezing wind it was the best thing ever.

"Look, I know it must hurt." He began, not releasing his grip on her. "No matter how much though, please just tell me. Finding you like this, it's scary."

The way he spoke sounded sincere and if it's one thing Natsu was good at it was being true to his feelings.

"I just miss her so much, no matter how many years past the pain is just as strong." Finally, Lucy had convided her words to the pink haired man before her. She wrapped her smaller arms around his torso, squeezing him tightly as she tried to hold back any more tears she felt she had. It was becoming clear now that she had been missing her mother, and that was why she had not said anything.

"I didn't want to sound like a burden..."

"You wouldn't have." Natsu said bluntly, gazing off into the gray skies above them. "Everyone misses someone, and you shouldn't feel like a burden. We're your nakama, Luce." He couldn't help himself and he squeezed her tighter in his grip. When he did this he could feel her body warming up and he soon rose his body tempterature so that he could also act as a heater to the frozen girl.

Lucy nodded slowly, realizing how silly she was for not speaking about her sadness to them. Fairy Tail always managed to make her feel better, so why would they consider her a burden?

"Besides," he began once again, letting her go so that she could glance up to him and he could look down to her in his arms. "You've got me at your side, I'll always be here for you." When he had finished this statement he made sure to flash a toothy grin towards her. Even in the pouring rain and raging thunder storm, she managed to find brightness in his smile.

She weakly returned the smile, eyes slightly red from her crying, but she was happy. Happy that Natsu had been the one to find her, and the one she would be holding in her time of need. He also felt her happiness and when she smiled back he felt his heart skip a few beats. Even when she was crying and soaking wet, she was beautiful.

It wasn't long before he unconciously rose a hand upwards and swept aside her hair which had stuck to her face from the moisture. She closed her eyes when his fingers had brushed against her cheek and opened them again when he pulled away, the orbs now holding tenderness.

During their conversation, the storm had not let up. The raging winds still swirled about them, tossing her hair to and fro and his scarf was on the edge of flying off. However, the two were too engrossed within one another to realize. They kept their gaze for a while, and as if out of no where, Natsu had leaned forward.

He went slowly, so that she would be able to realize the situation and pull away if she so chose, but it wasn't so. She stayed put, and instead also leaned forward. It didn't take long for his lips to find hers and he pressed his against hers in a tender kiss.

In reality, it had happened in a matter of seconds, but to them it was as if time and the storm around them stopped completely. The pouring rain, wild leaves, rapid winds, none of it mattered.

A few more minutes had passed and he was relunctant, but he soon tore the kiss and they had simply stayed close to each other. Their faces only inches apart, Natsu grew a grin once more. In a swift motion, he swept his arms below her and soon picked her up into a bridal style carry. She was startled and visably embarrassed by it, but he knew she wouldn't mind in the long run.

"Let's go, you'll catch a cold like this, and last thing we need is you not being able to come on a job with us when this clears up." He chuckled under his breath as he looked down to the statled blond in his arms. She stared at him for a few seconds, and soon scoffed with a small smile.

"Thank you, Natsu."

...

 **A/N:** *grumbles* I'm not too happy with the ending for this one, but I hope that maybe you guys enjoyed it? I'm going to be pumping out a few one-shots while I type up another multi-chapter one, so look forward to that!


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